Warner Bros. Family Entertainment
| founder = | defunct = | location_city = Burbank, CA}} Warner Bros. Family Entertainment is the family film label of Warner Bros., itself a subsidiary of WarnerMedia. It released numerous theatrical (or direct-to-video) family films and television series. History The division was founded in 1992 to produce more family-friendly films. The first theatrical film released under the Family Entertainment label was Dennis the Menace, released in the summer of 1993. The film proved to be a huge hit at the box office, grossing over $50 million at the domestic box office despite receiving negative reviews from critics. Following it was Free Willy, which was also released in the summer of 1993 and would also be a huge box office hit, grossing over $75 million domestically. Other 1993 releases included a live-action film adaptation of the book The Secret Garden which didn’t perform as well as the previous two films but still garnered over $30 million at the domestic box office. WBFE made another film in 1993, called George Balanchine's The Nutcracker. The last 1993 WBFE theatrical release was Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, and it wasn't a success at the box office, getting only $5 million at the box office compared to its $6 million budget. 1994 was the worst year for WBFE, where it was home to numerous flops. In the early part of 1994, Warner released Thumbelina, which was a major flop at the box office. Another 1994 film was a live-action rendition of the book Black Beauty, which was another flop for the studio, grabbing only nearly $5 million at the box office. Following it was A Troll in Central Park, which garnered less than $1 million at the box office. The last two films in 1994 were Little Giants, which performed better, but only received nearly $20 million domestically and Richie Rich, which was only a minor flop, grossing over $38 million for its $40 million budget. In 1995, it brought a live-action rendition of the book A Little Princess, which only got over $10 million in its domestic release. Other films include international releases of The Pebble and the Penguin (MGM holds the US rights to the film), which was a bomb at the box office, grossing nearly $4 million, and Born to Be Wild, which also garnered nearly $4 million. However, the biggest success of 1995 for the company was the sequel to Free Willy, Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home, which, although it wasn't nearly as successful as the predecessor, was a minor success, garnering over $30 million. In 1996, it would bring WBFE's biggest hit yet, Space Jam, which garnered over $90 million domestically, making the film a huge box office hit. In 1997, it would be home to some of Warner's least-successful movies yet. The next film was released in 1997, Turner Feature Animation's Cats Don't Dance, which flopped at the box office with over $3 million earned. The next 1997 film was a sequel to The Swan Princess, The Swan Princess: Escape from Castle Mountain, but it performed poorly at the box office mainly because of a limited theatrical release. The final 1997 film was the third Free Willy film, Free Willy 3: The Rescue, which performed poorly, grossing over $3 million. In 1998, it released Warner Bros. Animation's Quest for Camelot, which would be a flop at the box office, but grossed more than previous films released by the company, grossing nearly $23 million domestically. In 1999, it brought two more films from Warner Bros. Animation, the poorly performed The King and I, which only grossed nearly $12 million, and Brad Bird’s The Iron Giant, which was also a flop, grossing over $23 million. The only 2000 film released under WBFE was My Dog Skip, which became the company’s first major box office success in nearly four years, grossing nearly $35 million. Two more family films were released in 2001 through WBFE. Cats & Dogs was proved to be one of the biggest successes of the company’s history, grossing over $200 million worldwide. The next film, Osmosis Jones, was hoped to follow the previous two films in the success line-up, but sadly flopped, only grossing nearly $15 million. It wasn’t until 2004 that another film from WBFE was released, Clifford's Really Big Movie, which was another box office flop, mainly because of opening under 500 screens, grossing only over $3 million. Warner Bros. continues to release family films later in the 2000s, but the logo for its Family Entertainment subsidiary was no longer used. The last film to officially be released under the Family Entertainment banner was their first film to be released in Germany and the United Kingdom only, Laura's Star (2004). As of 2014, WBFE is currently active as an in-name-only unit of Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Bros. Animation since 2009 and 2013. Warner Premiere was WBFE's in-name-only unit until Warner Premiere shut down in 2013. Warner Bros. Family Entertainment also distributes classic kids and family TV shows by Warner Bros., such as ALF: The Animated Series, ALF Tales and Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle, and TV specials such as Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! and Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! as well as classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons such as The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, The Yogi Bear Show, The Huckleberry Hound Show, Scooby’s All-Star Laff-a-Lympics, The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest and The New Adventures of Captain Planet, including pre-1991 Ruby-Spears Productions cartoons such as Heathcliff and Dingbat, Heathcliff and Marmaduke, Thundarr the Barbarian, Mr. T and The Centurions, and classic DC Comics cartoons such as Superfriends, The All-New Super Friends Hour, Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show, The New Adventures of Superman, The Adventures of Aquaman, The Plastic Man-Baby Plas Super Comedy Show and The Adventures of Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder, and Turner Entertainment cartoons such as The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show, The Tom and Jerry Show and The New Adventures of Gilligan. Notable theatrical films *''Dennis the Menace'' (1993) *''Free Willy'' (1993, co-production with Regency Enterprises) *''The Secret Garden'' (1993) *''George Balanchine's The Nutcracker'' (1993) *''Batman: Mask of the Phantasm'' (1993, co-production with DC Entertainment) *''Thumbelina'' (1994, produced by Don Bluth Entertainment, now owned by 20th Century Fox) *''Black Beauty'' (1994) *''A Troll in Central Park'' (1994, produced by Don Bluth Entertainment, now owned by 20th Century Fox) *''Little Giants'' (1994, co-production with Amblin Entertainment) *''The NeverEnding Story III: Escape from Fantasia'' (1994, non-US distribution only, distributed in the US by Miramax Films) *''Richie Rich'' (1994, co-production with Silver Pictures, Davis Entertainment and The Harvey Entertainment Company) *''Born to Be Wild'' (1995) *''A Little Princess'' (1995) *''Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home'' (1995, co-production with Regency Enterprises) *''The Amazing Panda Adventure'' (1995) *''The Pebble and the Penguin'' (1995, non-US distribution only, produced by Don Bluth Entertainment, distributed in the US and Canada by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, International rights now owned by 20th Century Fox) *''It Takes Two'' (1995, co-production with Rysher Entertainment) *''Gumby: The Movie'' (1995, German distribution only, produced by Premavision, Inc., distributed in the US by Arrow Releasing Inc.) *''Space Jam'' (1996) *''Shiloh'' (1996, distributed theatrically by Legacy Releasing) *''Cats Don't Dance'' (1997, co-production with Turner Entertainment Co.) *''A Rat's Tale'' (1997, co-production with Augsburger Puppenkiste and Monty Film GmbH, distributed theatrically in the US by Legacy Releasing) *''The Fearless Four'' (1997, co-production with Munich Animation, Stardust Pictures London, and Bioskop Film) *''Air Bud'' (1997, UK distribution only, distributed in North America by Walt Disney Pictures) *''Wild America'' (1997, co-production with Morgan Creek Entertainment Group) *''The Swan Princess: Escape from Castle Mountain'' (1997, North American home video distribution only, produced by Nest Entertainment and Rich Animation Studios, distributed theatrically in the US by Legacy Releasing, now owned by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment via Sony Wonder) *''Free Willy 3: The Rescue'' (1997, co-production with Regency Enterprises) *''Pippi Longstocking'' (1997, North American home video distribution only, produced by Nelvana, SF Studios and Telefilm Canada, distributed theatrically in the US by Legacy Releasing) *''Quest for Camelot'' (1998) *''The King and I'' (1999, co-production with Morgan Creek Entertainment Group) *''The Iron Giant'' (1999) *''Pokémon: The First Movie'' (1999, co-production with Nintendo, OLM, Inc. and 4Kids Entertainment) * Tobias Totz and his Lion (1999) (co-production with Munich Animation, Stardust Pictures London, and Bioskop Film) *''My Dog Skip'' (2000, co-production with Alcon Entertainment) *''Pokémon: The Movie 2000'' (2000, co-production with Nintendo, OLM, Inc. and 4Kids Entertainment) *''The Scarecrow'' (2000) *''Pokémon 3: The Movie'' (2001, co-production with Nintendo, OLM, Inc. and 4Kids Entertainment) *''See Spot Run'' (2001 co-production with Village Roadshow Pictures) *''Cats & Dogs'' (2001, co-production with Village Roadshow Pictures) *''Osmosis Jones'' (2001, co-produced by Conundrum Productions) *''The Little Polar Bear'' (2001) *''Clifford's Really Big Movie'' (2004) (co-production with Scholastic Entertainment) *''Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light'' (2004, co-production with Studio Gallop and 4Kids Entertainment) *''Laura's Star'' (2004) Notable direct-to-video films Notable television shows *''Tiny Toon Adventures'' (1990–1995, with Amblin Entertainment) *''Taz-Mania'' (1991–1995) *''Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992–1995, with DC Comics) *''The Plucky Duck Show'' (1992, with Amblin Entertainment) *''The Little Polar Bear'' (1992-1993) *''Animaniacs'' (1993–1998, with Amblin Entertainment) *''Free Willy'' (1994) *''Freakazoid!'' (1995–1997, with Amblin Entertainment) *''Pinky and the Brain'' (1995–1998, with Amblin Entertainment) *''The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries'' (1995–2002) *''Road Rovers'' (1996–1997) *''Superman: The Animated Series'' (1996–2000, with DC Comics) *''Waynehead'' (1996–1997, with Nelvana) *''The Legend of Calamity Jane'' (1997-1998) *''The New Batman Adventures'' (1997–1999, with DC Comics) *''The New Batman/Superman Adventures'' (1997–2000, with DC Comics) *''Histeria!'' (1998–2000) *''Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain'' (1998–1999, with Amblin Entertainment) *''Batman Beyond'' (1999–2001) *''Detention'' (1999–2000) *''Static Shock'' (2000–2004, with DC Comics) *''Justice League'' (2001–2004, with DC Comics) *''The Zeta Project'' (2001–2002, with DC Comics) *''Baby Looney Tunes'' (2002–2005) *''Laura's Star'' (2002–2008) *''¡Mucha Lucha!'' (2002–2005) *''Ozzy & Drix'' (2002–2004) *''What's New, Scooby-Doo?'' (2002–2006) *''The Little Polar Bear'' (2002-2003) *''Duck Dodgers'' (2003–2005) *''Teen Titans'' (2003–2006, with DC Comics) *''Xiaolin Showdown'' (2003–2006) *''The Batman'' (2004–2008, with DC Comics) *''Justice League Unlimited'' (2004–2006, with DC) *''Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island'' (2005–2006) *''Johnny Test'' (2005–2014; first season only) *''Firehouse Tales'' (2005–2006) *''Krypto the Superdog'' (2005–2006, with DC Comics) *''Loonatics Unleashed'' (2005–2007) *''Legion of Super Heroes'' (2006–2008, with DC Comics) *''Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!'' (2006–2008) *''Tom and Jerry Tales'' (2006–2008, with Turner Entertainment Co.) External links * Category:Warner Bros. Category:Companies established in 1992 Category:Film studios